After a long and annoying journey by UPS (avoid them if you can…) I got my kit and built it. Whatever you do, do not pay import duties to UPS online in advance in the UK… it changes the delivery status to “failed 3x times, return to sender” immediately. But that’s a different discussion…
First of all, Zee is hands down the best and most versatile sound module I have used so far, and is easily comparable to many pro gear.
A few notes:
I had the exact same issue with the SD card cable, like it is in another recent topic, the cable did not work, despite no visible problem, but using the SD card slot on the RPi did.
Thankfully there were 2 SD cables included with my kit and the second one is working. Seemingly there is no difference between the two, and no visible damage on the broken one.
The build guide Wiki suggests the direction of the blue part of the display cable. Well, there is none on my cable, as it is completely black, but it was possible to see where the contact edge is anyway
The login is “opensynth”, not “raspberry” as in the Wiki.
The screen indeed has a high pitched hum
For the next hardware version it would be nice to have a HDMI slot on the enclosure and a cable route for that - my sight is not what it was a few decades ago, and I’d love to take advantage of the 2 HDMI ports of RPi 5. I am aware of VNC, but simply driving a display without a laptop/PC inbetween would be beneficial for everyone who prefers it that way.
It certainly has a learning curve, but having used Roland, Yamaha and Akai gear I’d say it’s certainly doing fine. What would be nice (and other instruments usually have) is to have a little space next to the encoders always dedicated on the screen reserved for symbols or text of what each encoder does in certain situations - this is not consistent.
Hi welcome @IFW it’s nice to hear such realistic feedback.
Well, the reason is that Zynthian is not mean to be run on multiple displays.
Yet, on 10.10.2024
Having the native Zynthian UI + the engines interface (or webconf or whatever) on a second display would be defintively cool for sure.
It’s still doable for adventureous: Zynthian is just an Open Source Linux system and, with a little surgery on the case, it’s +/- easy to add an HDMI output on the left side of the 5.1 kit.
I’d rather not do that after the UPS provided adventure - happy to have a working device now
But I think if there is a list of features somewhere for future hardware revision it would be nice to add an external HDMI port and I’d get an official upgrade/new one.
Here is another one: there is a soft off switch. But switching the device on is only (?) possible with turning the physical switch off and on again. Maybe there could be a wake key/button or something that works as long as the physical switch is not turned off?
Welcome to zynthianland!! Great to read your feedback and thanks you for taking the time to report!
If you leave the device idle for a while (no UI or midi activity), it will enter powersave mode (sleep). It will wake up when you push some button , touch the display, rotate an encoder or receive MIDI activity. The time-to-sleep can be adjusted from webconf.
I never turn-off any of my zynthians. They are always “on” for months/years
A power switch may be advantageous and the RPi5 provides a dedicated button for this which maybe could be exposed. (I look forward to seeing the mechanical contraption that presses that button!!!
I have had an aspiration to expose HDMI ports for a while but there are various reasons why this hasn’t been implemented, including that some custom builds already use the HDMI port for main UI and older RPi only had one. I would like to see at least one (possibly both) HDMI ports exposed in the future. We may start working on an interface that uses these ports. (There is a kinda dependancy on some work on LV2 hosting - don’t ask, just wait!!!)
I really apologize for the problems. There is little we can do. You can be sure that UPS is the best we have found for UK at a reasonable price (and it’s quite expensive, indeed!!). The real problem is customs …
Glad to read this!! Indeed our goal is reading this everyday from every user
We detected some issues in the first orders we sent so we decided to include 2 x SD-card harnesses to mitigate de problem.
Of course, we are discussing with our supplier and we hope to improve the quality of this harness in the next batch.
Fixed!
Fixed too.
This is already being discussed in other thread. It’s a design flaw in the display and we are fighting to get it fixed in the next batch.
This is something i would like too, but the V5’s backside is totally populated and we have no room for more connectors. We should remove/replace some of the current connectors for having room for a HDMI connector, and of course, each user have his own preferences about connectors. I’m pretty sure replacing MIDI DIN-5 connectors by mini-jack would face strong opposition. Increasing the case length is a complex decision too. As you see, it’s not just a “technical” deal …
My advice is:
If you really want this HDMI connector, make a hole/slot in the case backside and plug some kind of HDMI extender. There are lot of them:
How about something like this. A snap-in HDMI connector that could then be extended to the RPi5 via a short internal cable. With a bit of searching we may find a supplier that will provide the snap-in HDMI with a short tail and micro-HDMI plug. The advantage of this appoach is that the hole can be cut in the back panel and the connector snapped in and connected to the RPi without needing to be PCB mounted which assists with fabrication and construction.
The example here may be a little too big to fit into a spare space on the back panel (with existing sockets) but is quite close to being able to be fitted above most of the connectors: Audio, USB, network, power. It would be super cool to fit something like this and, if we find a suitable unit, user’s could retro-fit. The hole needs to be rectangular but there is some tollerance for cutting as the bezel covers the hole so careful use of a Dremel would work.
I will look to see if I can find a suitable candidate and may attempt the surgery, but if anyone else wants to then please be my guest! Note that zynthian V3 has a full size HDMI socket and the V4 has 2 micro-HDMI sockets so this would be a mod for V5 & V5.1.
[Edit] I took the lid off my V5 and realise there is less space available than I initially thought because the control PCB sits 12mm below the top of the case and most of these snap-in sockets use the standard keystone size which requires a 18mm hole (or larger). But maybe a screw-in panel connector like this might work. I can’t find any dimensions and it would require more accurate (neat) panel cutting but could be an option for the next version of the kit.
I have a few pieces of this type already on the way. I don’t have the original Zynthian case so that I cannot compare, but I could give you more exact dimensions when they arrive. (On Ali, you can sometimes also find more accurate descriptions of the same products at other seller’s shops. Maybe not this one)
It would be difficult to place in the V5’s busy back panel or any other side. But it could be tried and see if there is a hidden corner where it could be placed.
Yes, I have spent a while looking at this and there really isn’t much space. The space that appears free on the back panel, above the connectors only has 10mm of depth before hitting the control PCB. You could possibly fit one on the side. That isn’t ideal but maybe acceptable for some. We could also consider, in a later hardware revision, changing the connectors like MIDI DIN-5 which could be moved to the side or changed for mini-jack or move the MIDI-THRU to pins on the MIDI OUT (for which there is a kinda standard). I wonder how many people use the MIDI THRU on the zynthian?
I wonder how many people would use the HDMI output …
I use the MIDI connectors frequently and rarely need the HDMI output.
BTW, moving anything to the side is not an option. Look around you and you rarely will find devices with connectors in several sides. There are important reasons for this. It’s almost impossible to get a decent fit with case holes and assembling gets a lot harder. Lot of problems and little to gain, so engineers normally find a solution using one side only.
Of course, you will find examples, specially in big devices where connectors are spread in several boards, but try to do it with a single board and connectors in several sides and you will understand what i mean.
You could place the headphone output on the front, and put HDMI at the back. Or maybe have a mini hdmi port? Just somewhere next to the SD slot?
HDMI for me would be higher priority than MIDI simply because of the convenience of not having to use a middle device to access the second screen. But I have to admit MIDI THRU is great as well
Actually, the headphone could be on the top panel too.
HDMI or headphone could use a snap in port indeed, so not necessarily be on the PCB.
This discussion is driven by an aspriation to start using the HDMI, e.g. to show a desktop where you can edit sound design, like the VNC desktop.
My suggestion was to use panel mounted connectors that the user fixes to the panel during construction, so just needs a cut-out during fabrication. The user plugs this to the RPi, hence resolving the issue with fabrication. There are a few machines that provide interfaces on the side, sometimes within cut-outs within side-cheeks. I prefer all the connectors on the back but if we have to, then we could consider the side for connectors tha have flying cables, like the HDMI suggestion here.
I lobbied for this during V5 design and still think it a good idea. We could have a socket on a flying cable that the user adds to the top case and plugs to the motherboard. There could also be a volume control implemented in the same way… (I can fell the wrath already!!!)
Any “factory fitted” solution would be perfect, that does not involve cutting the case with Dremel etc.
Z is such a neat and lovely device (my wife said it was cute and beautiful- the last time that happened was for a Roland Fantom!), don’t want to make it ugly with Dremel etc
As a brand new user, I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes here, but you absolutely have my vote, both for a master volume and the headphone jack on top for next device
…and the (mini?) HDMI on the back
I haven’t talked about the mini-OLED screens next to the rotary encoders yet or faders - al la Novation SL Mk3
That’s OK, I wanted to buy Zee a year ago, but RPi 5 just came out and I read the forum before ordering (I know, strange!) and waited until an upgraded kit was available - I ordered instantly as soon as I got the notification email about the new kit though
So another year with the current model is perfectly fine, RPi 6 will probably need an update anyway
All these things can be easily added DIY, @riban, by the brave tinkerers. We must leave some fun for them
BTW, your V5 has a front panel headphone connector that i personally soldered for you with love and care. Please, send a picture to show the result.
Come on!! Don’t be afraid of doing some surgery to your “Zees”! The dremel can be your best friend and i can manufacture more aluminum cases for those of you with wake hands
Seriously, designing and manufacturing a reliable and beautiful kit that can be assembled with the minimum number of issues by most users is a compromise deal. We try to give as much as possible while keeping assembling easy-enough. But devil is always the the little details, my dear friends!! Giving all always makes assembling more difficult, so we have to stay somewhere in the middle.
